Анна Мушина
Hello random guest or my good friend! I have been living in China for the last two months. European ideals and customs are still fresh in my mind butin this article I’ll try to look at China from another side and compare with Russia.
The first biggest undisguised thing is population. There are a lot of Chinese people, too many! I was “lucky” to get to Shanghai on New Year’s Eve. I have never seen such a large stream of people and soooo long lines everywhere: to ticket terminals on a metro station, to landmarks and even to McDonalds.
Some of my coworkers have explained that is an unrespectable attitude to each other. I wouldn’t say that they are disrespectful; they just ignore interests of others and clearly understand that there are not enough resources for everyone – onlythe strongest survive. At the same time they are not aggressive. Example: once I was waiting for my turn in a line for 40 minutes. One guy just squeezing and standing directly behind me, all the rest (approximately 70 people or more)are watching that. I thought “the big scandal must to start”, because there was crowded, noisy, stuffyand everyone was tired. But only 2 women express their indignation and just continue to stand. In Russia it would probably end up fighting.
One more Chinese paradox – despite the intention to be the first, they are notselfish. The ideas of personal integrity and private property have a long history in Europe. However, Confucianism and Taoism has existed much longer; these are traditional teachings preaching collectivism, mutual assistance and tolerance. Confucius teached: the world of your ego separate you from the real world. On the other side “cultural revolution” by MaoZedong has separated China from the rest of the world.
Additionally, Communistic newspaper still is one of the leading Chinese media.
Confucius said: “A noble man awaits with dignity the orders of heaven. Low man is fussy and waiting for luck”. I have never seen my colleagues angry, gloating, rushing, envious or upset. Vicissitudes don’t impact to the people, they accept everything happens to them. I assume it’s coming from “life in the moment”. In contrast oftoRussians they don’t think a lot about the future, even the short term. Example: was at the train station in Shanghai where I had a lot of time prior to boarding. One man is calling the elevator and in several seconds he sees the glass elevator crowded with реорle. Instead of letting the people exit, he is just continues to stay directly in front of the doorsuntil they push him. I do not think it is a disrespectful attitude I wrote earlier about, it’s just the lack of forecast. It’s a big difference from Russian people with their existential thoughts abouthow to live, what to do,etc.
We are different, but there is one thing all of us love equally. It’s a love of food.
Here my opinion may diverge with the other ones. If I don’t have time or the ability to have a normal meal, I buy a snack, sandwich, or salad and eat it even if it’s cold or not tasty enough. I respect my time and I can’t spend it looking for a place and waiting for the meal to be ready. In China there is a belief:if you eat cold food, you will get sick and it’s more serious than just stomach ache.
I will never understand the aspect of Chinese food culture: they don’t eat up and just throw dishes away, despite the fact they spent time cooking or it’s an expensive delicacy. Also they so generously produce garbage as noise in public places. Feature of the language: to speak loudly and threateningly.
And the last point I couldn’t avoid. Chinese fashion.
In the West, atanned and toned body is a sign of health. However, now this tendency is waning to skin diseases (for example, cancer). Chinese women hide from the sun because paleness is considered noble as in olden time.
Nothing makes you feel life so acutely, as a journey. And journeys consist not only of places, but also of meetings, acquaintances and people, of course. Chinese are great company.
Congratulations! This is the end of my debut English article, but not the end of conversation with you. If you had any reasons to comment, to ask, to discuss – be sure to let me know. Thanks for your attention.